


Still Jack and Daniel - The 2nd Year - XIV - Daniel Jackson O'Neill's Summer Adventures - Aid Society Day

by Annejackdanny



Series: Still Jack and Daniel Series 2 - No Yellow Brick Road/Ghosts of the Past [14]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Fluff, Kid Fic, Little Danny, M/M, summer adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-12
Updated: 2012-10-12
Packaged: 2017-11-16 03:49:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annejackdanny/pseuds/Annejackdanny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack, LD and Al visit the USAF Academy on Aid Society Day. Lots of fun ahead</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Jack and Daniel - The 2nd Year - XIV - Daniel Jackson O'Neill's Summer Adventures - Aid Society Day

**Author's Note:**

> There's no such thing as Aid Society Day at the USAF. The USAF does, however, have Aid Society charity.
> 
> http://www.afas.org/
> 
> So while I made up the event and the day, the organization exists.

**Still Jack and Daniel – The Second Year**

**Daniel Jackson O'Neill's Summer Adventures**

**XIV**

**Aid Society Day**

“That's all for now, people.” General Hammond stood and dismissed the two Daniels with a warm smile. “Good work. The movie to go with the printed version was an excellent idea.“

“Thank you, sir,” the small version said, blushing slightly at the praise.

“Don't you worry, son. The HWS staff will be impressed. I wish someone would have prepared us like this for the ride when we opened the program,” Hammond said with a wink

“It would have made things a bit easier,” Jackson agreed.

“Well, that way it was less... boring?” Jack waggled his eyebrows at the pair. 

Chuckling quietly, Hammond shook his head. “Always looking at the upside of things, Colonel O'Neill.” 

“Yep. Mister Positive, that's me, sir.“

The Daniels exchanged a long-suffering look and headed out of the briefing room. Jack was about to follow them, but the general called him back and lead the way to his office.

Expecting more unpleasant paperwork, or another issue DC had with next week's launch of HWS, Jack suppressed a sigh as he followed his superior. When he closed the door and expectantly looked at Hammond, the older man opened the top drawer of his desk and rummaged around in it. 

“How is our boy doing, Jack?” he asked, retrieving an envelope and putting it on his desk.

“Oh, pretty good. He's been a bit anxious about the whole HWS thing, but otherwise he's fine,” Jack said. No more mission reports had found their way out of the mountain either. 

“He's come a long way. But I don't want him to feel pressured. If you think going to Washington and being part of the meeting is too much for him we'll pull him off the list. I'm sure Doctor Jackson would understand,” Hammond said. “And this isn't in any way indicating Daniel has done a bad job so far. On the contrary. He and Doctor Jackson have worked out a guideline to the Stargate program we can use for years to come on any other Stargate related project that might come up. I'm just worried for his well being.” 

“I think we shouldn't take this away from him unless he really feels uncomfortable,” Jack said thoughtfully. “He's anxious, yes. But we'll all be with him and I'm sure he'll be fine once he and Jackson have started their presentation.” Simmons wasn't going to show his face there. Jack had made sure of that. 

“That's all I wanted to know, Jack,” Hammond said brightly. He picked up the envelope and waved it in his direction. “Do you have any plans for the weekend?”

“Hanging out at home, watching the Simpsons and generally just having a good time, sir.” Jack eyed the envelope warily. It didn't look like it contained flight tickets. Didn't look official enough for that. And no airline logo on it. So Hammond wasn't going to send him to DC for some short notice meeting... 

“I've got invitations for the AF Aid Society day for Saturday, but it's my granddaughter's birthday and she prefers a party at home over going there,” Hammond said. He didn't look as though he minded having to skip this event. 

“Where is it held?” Jack asked, trying not to sound too weary. Official event meant he'd have to wear some kind of uniform. And probably meet some of the higher ups, make small talk... Daniel would be thrilled to go. Not. 

“Oh, here at the academy. It's a fundraiser thing, you know. All money goes to the Aid Society. It's also a great opportunity to interest potential new cadets. It's family friendly – lots to do for kids.” At Jack's grimace, the general smirked. “Even for all-grown-up kids such as Daniel, I'm sure. There are three tickets in here for one of the special events of the day. You might want to take Daniel and Doctor Jackson.” 

“That's... I don't know what to say, sir.” Jack took the offered envelope, seeing his wonderfully quiet and uneventful weekend going to netu.

Hammond shrugged. “If you don't want to go, pass it on to Major Carter and Teal'c. Maybe one of them can take Daniel. But I'd take a look inside. You might want to do it after all.” 

“Right. Thank you, sir.” 

“Oh, Jack! I'd like you to take pictures if you don't mind,” Hammond said with a mysterious little smile. 

“Pictures of...?” Surely not of the academy grounds and hundreds of people stomping about everywhere among food booths and raffles. 

“You'll know what kind of pictures once you've checked the tickets,” Hammond said and waved him off. “I have work to do, Colonel. And so do you I believe.”

“Yes, sir.” Jack stowed the envelope in the chest pocket of his blue BDU shirt and left the office. 

  
  


Saturday came bright and sunny. The incredible blue sky stretched out above them as they headed for Jack's truck which was parked in front of the Miller's house. Jack, still kind of dazed by Mrs. Miller's usual hyper and slightly muddle-headed mannerisms, followed the boys. They had almost reached the truck when the front door behind them opened and Mrs. Miller came running out, a baseball cap in her hand. “Al! You forgot your cap, honey!”

The brown haired boy took the cap and put it on his head. “Okay, mom.”

Mrs. Miller turned back to Jack. “Colonel, are you sure this is safe?”

Jack opened his mouth to assure her – again - that yes, it was safe. After all the event had been labeled all ages. But Al's mom was checking her watch, a panicked expression on her face. “Oh! I have to get ready for my shift. Please make sure Al is wearing his cap. And that he doesn’t get lost. My mobile number... did I give you my phone number?”

“Mom,” Al said, blushing. “I've got your phone number on speed dial.”

“Oh, yes. Of course. If there are any problems, call me. Al, be good and polite. And... oh, I gotta run. Your dinner is in the micro wave. Bryan is staying with Mitch tonight. Do you have your keys?”

“Yes, mom,” Al said. 

“Good. Colonel, please don't bring him home too late. I've left a message for Ronald so he knows where Al is when he gets home. Oh, wait. I didn't. I have to do that.” She scurried over to kiss her son and then dashed back into the house.

“Let's move out.” Jack ordered with a shudder. “Quick!”

“I better call dad later. Mom might forget to write that message after all,” Al mumbled when they were on their way. Then he looked around the truck as if he was missing something. “Where is Flyboy?” 

“Dogs aren't allowed at the academy,” Daniel said. “So we had to leave him with my uncle.” He didn't even stumble over the word 'uncle' anymore. Apparently he was getting used to sticking to the official cover story about Jackson being his uncle. Daniel didn’t have to use that story much, as he spent most of his time with SG-1 or others from the mountain who were cleared to know the truth. 

“Oh.” Al sounded almost disappointed. He was scared of dogs, but had overcome his fear around Flyboy. And the dog seemed to sense Al's apprehension. He was surprisingly composed and never seemed to have one of his joyful outbursts around Daniel's friend. As if he didn't want to scare the boy. 

“I've never been at the academy,” Al shared with them. “Is it huge? Do they have jets there? And do we get to see real military heroes?” When Jack raised his eyebrow at the rearview mirror Al hastened to add, “I mean guys who fly jets. You know... real pilots.”

“Jack used to be a pilot when he was younger,” Daniel pointed out.

“Yes, but that was a long time ago, wasn't it?” Al paused again, rethinking what he just said. “Sorry, Colonel O'Neill. I didn't mean to make fun of your age.”

“That's okay, kid. It's been awhile,” Jack said dryly. He wasn't going to share anything about death gliders with re-call devices. “But nope, there aren't jets at the academy. You'd have to go to Petersen Base to see those.” 

“Ohhh,” came the disappointed sigh from the backseat. 

“There might be a parade though,” Jack said. 

“Can we give Al the tour? We could do the nature trail? And go to the planetarium? Or do we have to hang out at the stadium all day?” Daniel asked. 

“A planetarium!” Al whooped. “How cool!”

“Yes, it's awesome,” Daniel agreed. “Though it's only open for cadets now. Jack? Can you get us in?” 

“We can do whatever you like. We just have to be at the airfield at fifteen hundred,” Jack offered. “Let's take a look at the stadium, then head for the visitor center and go from there.”

“What's at the visitor center?” Al asked.

“Lots of stuff. There's a movie theater where you can watch movies about the academy and cadet life. There's a snack bar and a gift shop. And exhibits about academy history. It's huge,” Daniel enlightened his friend. 

“I'd really rather see the planetarium,” Al said with a shrug. “And the parade!” 

Jack silently agreed with Al. Not that he didn't like the academy's exhibits, but he'd seen them already Thankfully Daniel wasn't a huge fan of US military history. They had done this once in the first year of his downsizing and while it had been interesting and fun, Jack would happily move on to the planetarium and other stuff instead of doing the huge exhibit area again. 

“Can we go to the gift shop, too, Colonel O'Neill?” asked Al. “I brought some money.”

“We can go to the gift shop, too,” Jack confirmed. 

“And the snack bar?”

“And the snack bar.” 

Daniel had looked the event up on the net and read everything aloud to him. Jack remembered something about burgers, steaks and hot dogs, face painting and all kinds of sports activities for kids. Daniel had informed him right away he wasn’t doing any of those. Surprise. Not.

“Remember, both of you, to keep your phones on,” he instructed. “In case we lose each other in this beehive, I don't want to spend hours searching for you. Even better – stay close and don't get lost.” 

“We won't,” Al said and Daniel nodded his head. 

They reached the main gate of the complex and Jack got out his ID.

***

The Falcon Stadium was packed with people. Daniel couldn't decide where to look first. Down on the football field a dozen or so different activities seemed to be taking place. He spotted a gaggle of teens doing tug-of-war with a rope in some kind of sandbox. There was a long row of people waiting for their turns at goal wall shooting, which was basically a wooden wall with two holes in it to shoot a ball through. Each goal promised a free snack or drink at one of the snack bars. 

Somewhere else kids were pitching and catching baseballs. And on the racetrack multiple running games were taking place. It seemed that all the supervisors for the games were cadets, they were all wearing uniforms and white hats. 

Jack, who was wearing his class a uniform, stuffed his flight cap into his pant's pocket and took out his sunglasses. 

“Can we not stay here, please?” Daniel tugged at Jack's sleeve.

“You sure you don't want to kick the ball or do the three-legged race?” Jack asked with a smirk.

“No!” Daniel blurted out. Al shrugged, but didn't say anything. 

“You mind if I try the goal shooting?” 

“Ja-ack...”

“Hey, I came here for a bit of fun, too. C'mon. You can cheer me on.” Slowly they made their way down to the field, trying not to run into people. 

Daniel tugged at Jack's sleeve again. “What about your knees?” he hissed.

“My knees will survive a bit of ball kicking,” Jack said indignantly.

“What about us? Aren't you afraid we'll get lost in that crowd?” That had to stop him. Jack was always afraid of losing him. 

And just as predicted, Jack stopped and frowned for a moment. “You got your phone on?”

“Yeah, but...”

“Good. Don't wander off and don't lose sight of Al.”

They had reached the football field and Jack herded them towards the goal shooting wall. As they waited their turn, Al nudged Daniel and pointed over at a booth on the far side of the field. “They've got balloons there, look. You can write a card and let it fly. I'd like to do that. You?”

“Sure, why not,” Daniel said. “Maybe we'll even get a reply back from somewhere.” 

A young cadet made his way through the people handing out flyers. When he passed the goal shooting wall, he thrust one into Daniel's hand and grinned down at him. “Ever wanted your very own Air Force badge? You can get one next to the balloon booth. Just fill out this form and hand it in.” With that he went on, passing out forms to everyone who was interested in taking one.

“Oh! I'd like that!” Al had gotten one too. “It's five bucks though. I don't know... if we wanna go to the gift shop I need money, too. But you can even put your own rank in! I wanna be a pilot!” 

Daniel looked at his own form and tried to share Al's enthusiasm. But before he could think of anything cool to say, Jack got the ball and they watched as he put it down, measured the distance to the goal wall, stepped back, kicked... and the ball shot through the lower one of the two holes in the wall. 

Before he could hold himself back, Daniel punched the air, yelling, “YES!” 

“You've got three tries, sir,” the cadet taking the scores said. 

Jack picked up the ball. “What d'ya think, kids? Each of you a try?”

“No,” Daniel said. “You do it.” He wasn't good at these things and kind of annoyed that Jack was trying to cajole him into trying. He usually didn't do that and Daniel wasn't sure why he was doing it today. 

“Can I... try?” Al asked, chewing his bottom lip nervously. “But I'm bad at it, you know?” 

“There's no good or bad,” the cadet said cheerfully. “As long as you have fun.” 

Jack put the ball down and stepped back. “You're on, kid.”

“Okay. I'll, uh, just...” Al stood there, staring at the goal wall. “Just kick it in, right?”

“Right,” Jack said. “No sweat.”

Al kicked the ball. Daniel was almost sure his friend had his eyes closed as he did it. The ball missed the goal hole by only inches, slammed against the wall and bounced back. 

“Try again,” Jack urged him. 

“No, thank you,” Al murmured and quickly stepped out of line, his face red with embarrassment. 

_Great_ , Daniel thought. _Now I have to do it, too, just so Al isn't the only one making a fool out of himself._ He took the ball from Jack, placed it on the ground and gave it a half hearted kick. The ball bounced off the wall and almost hit the cadet in the face. But the man was quick and caught it in time. When Daniel apologized, he just laughed it off and handed the ball to the next person. 

If nothing else it made Al giggle and he looked a little less sad. 

“Sorry. Next time you'll have more luck,” the cadet said and handed Jack a slip of paper. “You can get a soft drink for this at one of our snack bars, sir.”

“Jack, can we get our own Air Force badges?” Daniel grabbed for Jack's hand and pulled him away from the goal shooting. The sooner they put this behind them, the better. Al still seemed a bit frustrated about his goal miss. 

Their forms contained a number and several patterns for badges to chose from. They had to x one, then give the form to the airman in the booth who would stamp a badge out of a piece of metal with a machine. They didn't look exactly like the real deal, but they had a pin and you could put them on your jacket or shirt to wear. 

Al, who had perked up when they reached the badge maker, wanted a pilot badge. After some consideration Daniel chose the Space Professional one. He could put it into this journal tonight and maybe show Doctor Svenson next week. She was always thrilled when he did something kid-like. 

While they had to wait for their badges being finished they stood in line for the balloons. A square faced man with marine-short blond hair handed them white cards and black markers. “Write your names, addresses and a message on here,” he ordered briskly. “Then I'll get the balloons for you. You'll have to come back here sometime after seventeen hundred to get them filled with helium. Launch is at twenty hundred.”

Daniel gave Jack a quizzical look. “Will we be back early enough?”

“I'm not sure. It says on the invite it'll take two hours,” Jack said.

The officer checked his watch. “You doing the big ride then? Don't worry. We'll start inflating the balloons at seventeen hundred, but if you're here at nineteen thirty it'll still be early enough.”

“What are you gonna write?” Al asked. He had scribbled his address on his card and was now gazing at it thoughtfully. 

“I don't know.” Daniel drew up a blank. “How about; Looking for pen pal, please write back?”

“Special Ops – pen pal needed for exchange of classified data,” Jack suggested with a grin. 

“Ja...” Daniel started to moan, but Al sniggered and jotted it down. Daniel stared at his card for a moment longer, then wrote; _Hi, I'm Daniel, peaceful explorer from Earth. I'd like to get a letter from you, even if you're not an alien, thank you._ He had to scribble the last bit into a corner, but overall he was very satisfied with his message.

Jack looked at it and started laughing. “Nice one, space monkey.”

Al got the non-inflated balloons. They were blue and had USAF ACADAMY AID SOCIETY DAY written on them in white letters. As far as Daniel could see there were AF wings underneath the writing. He'd know for sure once they were inflated later.

“There’s a parade on the terrazzo at noon,” the balloon officer pointed out just as their badge numbers were called out from the other booth. 

A moment later Daniel and Al had their badges pinned to their jeans jackets and made their way out of the stadium and back to the truck.

  
  


At the visitor center the boys left their balloons and cards in the truck, but Al insisted on them carrying their badges. The Visitor Center was huge, just as Daniel remembered it. They trudged through parts of the exhibits with Jack entertaining them by telling bits and pieces of the academy's history he remembered. That was faster and more fun than having to read all the text. Daniel loved history – but he was more interested in the real ancient stuff. 

And finally there was a plane hanging from the ceiling. Not a sparkling new fighter jet, but cool enough to make Al happy. 

“That's the TG-4 glider,” Jack explained. “It's a sailplane from world war II. It's based on the Yankee Doodle design of 1939.” 

“Did you fly one of those, Colonel?” Al asked and Daniel sniggered. He couldn't help it. 

“I'm old,” Jack said with dignity, “but not that old.” 

“Oh!” Al joined Daniel in his giggling. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, right. So – who's hungry?”

“Me!” both of them shouted and made their way to the snack bar. 

“Colonel O'Neill?” Al piped up as they were seated with drinks, french fries and a hot dog for Jack. “Have you been in a war?” 

Daniel and Jack exchanged a look. “Yeah, I was,” Jack said. “In Iraq. But can't tell ya about it, it's all classified.”

“Wow,” Al said. “Did you fly jets? Did you have to do parachute jumps?“

“Jack has a master parachute badge,” Daniel shared. As soon as the words had left his mouth, he wished he hadn't said them. Jack didn't like to talk about his time in Iraq much. What if Al started asking lots of uncomfortable questions now? Nervously Daniel picked at his french fries. 

“Really? What other medals do you have, Colonel?”

But Jack smiled at Al over his coffee mug. “You know what? Next time you're over I'll show you some. But you need to understand that I can't tell you the story of all them.”

“Classified stuff, right?” Al asked.

“That's right. And if I tell ya, I'll have to shoot ya.” 

Al swallowed. “You've got my word, Colonel. I won't be nosy.” 

“Good. What's next?” 

“The cadet parade,” Daniel said after he checked his watch. Al called his dad to let him know where he was. It turned out his mom had really forgotten to leave that message. Daniel sometimes wondered how she managed daily life at all... Then they took a detour through the gift shop and Al bought USAF stickers and a book about the academy. 

***

Al was impressed by the parade on the terrazzo and kept talking about the cool uniforms as they headed back to the truck to drive over to the planetarium. Daniel seemed less enthusiastic, but listened patiently to his friend's prattling. Jack couldn't help but be amazed at Alistair's glowing interest for anything military. He wouldn't have pegged him that way. And he began to wonder if they might have just found a way of motivating Al to stand up to his older brother... it was probably time Al met their friend Murray after all. 

T didn't wear any medals or dress blues, but he was a warrior at heart. And he had even gotten little Daniel to take martial arts lessons from him. Maybe what Al needed was to go with Daniel when Teal'c worked out with him. Jack was sure Doc Svenson was doing a great job in trying to work on the kid's self esteem – but he felt more and more that Daniel had been right. Al needed to at least feel physically equal with his brother, too. Because Bryan hadn’t stopped his assaults at verbal attacks.

Jack took the boys on a scenic drive of the academy campus. He would have arranged for them to get into some of the areas that weren't open for public, but since they had a schedule to maintain there wasn't enough time for a proper tour of everything. As they were driving, he spent some time on the phone to get permission to show the kids the planetarium. Turned out it was closed even for the cadets at the moment due to re-modeling and installing the newest high tech equipment. 

But they drove by it so Al could see the dome. 

“It's there, it's there, I can see it!” Al yelled from the back seat. The white dome peeking out from behind the next hill seemed to gleam brightly in the sunlight. 

“It's huge. Really impressive,” Daniel said. “And it's high up. It's 7222 feet above sea level so it's great for star studies. It was built in 1959.”

They passed the cadet chapel and Daniel continued to play tour guide. “Cadet graduations take place here. But it's also used for weddings and other ceremonies. It has faith rooms for Protestants, Catholics and Jewish. And now there's even a Buddhist temple in there.”

“It looks kinda spacey,” Al commented. 

“Yeah, it does,” Jack agreed. “All seventeen spires are covered with aluminum. What do they remind you off?” 

Daniel grinned, knowing the answer to that one, but kept quiet until Al came up with it himself. “They look like jets in steep ascent!”

“Exactly.” 

They didn't have time to visit Arnold Hall or the Field house. Instead they turned onto the Stadium Boulevard and headed for the academy air field. 

“If there're no jets here, what kind of planes do they have?” Al asked when Jack pointed out the parachute jumping area to the boys.

“Towplanes and gliders for the most part,” Jack said. “A towplane is an aircraft that helps launch the gliders.” 

Today, however, the airfield had been covered with a green blanket of Astroturf, an artificial lawn. Barrier tape all around the large field kept the many onlookers from getting too close to the three hot air balloons sitting in the middle of the field, each of them in a different stage of being inflated. 

“They look just like the small balloons we'll be launching later,” Daniel called out. The balloons were dark blue and each bore the USAF logo and AID SOCIETY DAY written below. 

“Let's take a look!” Al said.

Both boys started to take off towards the balloons, but Jack's hands shot out and grabbed them by the back of their jackets. “Whoa! Hold your horses! We have to register for this first.” Spotting an officers in dress blues, and a cadet, he steered the kids in that direction. 

He didn't recognize Harley Beck until the man looked up from the clipboard the cadet had handed him. A look of surprise appeared on the other man's face, then a huge grin took over. “Jack? Jack O'Neill? Is that you?” 

“The one and only. It's good to see you,” he squinted at Beck's badges, “Lt. Colonel, eh? Congratulations, Beck.” Jack saluted sloppily, then they shook hands and Beck clapped his shoulder. “That happened a while ago. What are you doing here? You got an invite for the ride?”

“Actually, General Hammond handed his over to me. He couldn't make it.”

“Man, you look... old,” Beck said and shook his head. “How long has it been, Jack?” 

“Long enough for both of us to go gray,” Jack smirked. And in Haley's case to gain a couple extra pounds. 

Haley snorted. “Where are you posted?”

“NORAD. Deep Space Telemetry,” Jack replied automatically.

Beck's eyebrows almost hit the rim of his hat. “Out of the field too, huh? I'm teaching these days. Tenth Air Base Wing. And today I'm in charge of this shindig... well, just the balloon ride.” He turned back to the patiently waiting cadet. “Thanks, Weatherby, that'll be all.”

Weatherby, a red haired eager-looking young man, saluted snappily. “Yes, sir.” With that he marched off. Beck looked at his clipboard. “I've got General Hammond on here, but he's listed with two other people. Did you bring someone?” 

“Yeah, I brought my...” Jack spun around swiftly. The kids were gone. He instantly felt his heartbeat quicken when he didn't spot them right away. “Listen, I gotta find my kids. Here's the invite,” he told Beck, who took it and attached it to his clipboard. 

“Your kids? Hey, I didn't know you had two by now,” Beck said and took the invite. “I'll make sure we get to ride in the same balloon. Good luck finding them. I need to give a speech now.”

Jack gave Beck a short wave and hurried towards the large balloons, pretty sure the boys were somewhere in the hustle and bustle going on around there. Two balloons were almost fully inflated, but the third one was still droopy. It was being inflated by some kind of super fan. Jack rounded the huge basket and spotted Daniel's blond head in the group of people gathered around the balloon and a guy giving them a run-down on how it all worked. 

“It'll take about ten to fifteen minutes to inflate the balloon. We use this fan to blow cold ground air into the balloon. Once we have it about three quarters filled and stabilized, we'll start the burner and fire it into the air balloon. That will heat up the air and cause the balloon to stand up,” he explained, his voice rising over the loud howling of the fan and Beck's voice coming over the speakers. 

Beck was talking about the Aid Society and how the balloon ride would make more people aware of its existence. The balloon guy wasn’t wearing any kind of uniform, so Jack assumed he was part of the company the AF had hired for this. 

“Let me give you a few facts before we start. A typical hot air balloon is 63 feet in height. That's almost seven stories high. It’s 55 feet in diameter. The weight is 214 pounds for the envelope – that's the colorful balloon part - and 450 pounds for the entire system including fuel and passengers.” 

Jack approached the kids just in time to hear Al asking, “How fast can it fly?”

And Daniel following suit with, “How do you control where you're going? I know it doesn't have a wheel or anything, but does it really just go with the wind? How do you navigate it?”

“And how high does it go up?” Al wanted to know. 

Balloon guy nodded at the boys. “Those are very interesting questions. I'll answer all of them once we're in the air.”

“Are you our pilot?” Daniel asked with interest. 

“My friend's dad's a pilot, too, but he used to fly jets and gliders,” Al informed the man and everyone in earshot. “He's a real pilot, you know?”

“I'm your pilot, yes. If you want to be a balloon pilot you need a license. You have to do training flights and you have to pass a flight test. Jet pilots might be pilots, too, but they're not allowed to fly a balloon,” he explained with a chuckle, receiving a look of doubt from Al. 

Daniel elbowed his friend in the ribs to keep him from saying anything else. Al shrugged and muttered, “I'm not sure flying balloons counts as being a real pilot.”

“You can't say something like that. It's rude,” Daniel hissed.

“Sometimes you sound like my mom,” Al complained. 

Daniel, clearly taken aback at such a horrible accusation, snapped, “I don't!”

“Do,” Al fired back.

“Don't!”

Jack chose that moment to put his hands on the boys' shoulders, making them both jump. “Thanks for defending my honor, Al, but there are different kind of pilots, actually.”

“Jack!” Daniel turned to beam up at him. “Did you know the balloon is 63 feet high! And 55 feet in diameter?” 

“Yes, Daniel, I heard the man _while I was looking for you_.” He wouldn't make a big deal out of it since it had taken him less than a minute to spot the MIA deserters. But it couldn't hurt to remind them that wandering out of sight was a no-go, especially in a crowded environment like this. 

“We just wanted to watch the inflating,” Daniel said in a kind of apologetic tone. “We were right here and you were right over there.” As an afterthought he added. “You could've called us. We both have our phones on as ordered.”

“Well, I saw you before I had to call you. Let's keep it that way, shall we?” 

“Don't worry. We won't wander off during the balloon ride,” Daniel pointed out cheekily and dodged Jack's hand aiming for the back of his head for a mild swat. 

Al, oblivious to what was happening around him, tugged at Jack's sleeve. “Colonel O'Neill! Daniel! Look! It's almost standing up now!” 

The pilot, who had supervised the inflating after his little talk to the audience, returned and told them to get ready to enter the basket. He looked down at Daniel and Al, smirking. “You two wanna go first? We don't have very windy conditions, so take off is going to be easy and we don't have to hurry.”

There were small holes in the basket wall to use as steps. Al, who went first, managed okay until he had to swing his leg over the rim of the basket. He started swaying dangerously there for a moment and Jack was about to leap after him, but Al regained his footing and jumped inside. Daniel climbed into the basket like a little monkey with no assistance needed whatsoever and Jack followed, wishing he was ten years younger with knees that didn't pop when he ascended into the basket. Okay, so he wasn't exactly unfit or rusty – yet. But he sure felt the affect of not going off world anymore or working out in the gym as regularly as he used to. 

A couple entered the basket next, a general and his wife. The general gave Jack a curt nod. “Colonel. I'm General Silverstone, this is my wife. Pleased to meet you.” 

Jack stood at attention for a moment. “General,” he said in greeting, then introduced himself. “Colonel O'Neill. This is my son Daniel and his friend Alistair.”

Al stared at Silverstone with open curiosity, apparently impressed to be riding in the same balloon as a general. Daniel elbowed him again and said politely, “It's nice to meet you, sir.” Then he and Al gazed up into the balloon opening, watching the flame.

Harley Beck joined them a moment later and Jack was glad to see he had more trouble climbing into the basket than he did. 

“Not getting any younger here,” Beck huffed once he was standing next to Jack and the boys. “So are these your kids?” 

“Actually, just one of them. Al's a friend of Daniel,” Jack replied once the boys had said hello. 

“Great. What about your other kid? Charlie? He must be all grown up by now. Has he he joined up? I haven't met him, but this is a big campus,” Beck said. 

Al had gone back to staring into the balloon, but Daniel sidled closer to Jack and leaned against his side as if he was tired or wanted a hug. Grateful for the support, Jack wrapped one arm around his kid. One would think this would have gotten easier with the years, but it hadn’t. Oh, Jack had come to terms with many aspects of Charlie's death. But this... telling others and dealing with the pitying looks... would never get any easier. “Charlie died in an accident when he was ten. Sara left shortly after. So it's just Daniel and me.”

A shadow fell over Beck's face, but as someone who had served in the Gulf war with Jack he knew a lot about personal losses and death. He nodded in silent understanding. “Sorry to hear that, Jack.” As far as Jack knew Beck didn't have a wife or kids. At least he hadn’t back in 1991 when they served together. 

Daniel gazed up at him, a silent question in his blue eyes. _Are you okay?_ Jack looked back, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. _I'm fine._

Apparently satisfied with this, Daniel joined Al and together they watched the pilot entering. The ground crew was busy holding the basket down by now as the balloon was proudly standing up in all its wide blue glory. Jack quickly got out his camera to snap a couple of pictures of the other balloons and the scenery. 

“We're going to launch now,” the pilot said. “Welcome on board. I'm Roger, by the way. If you have any questions about balloon riding, I’ll be happy to answer them. I'm also going to give you a bit of a sightseeing tour while we're traveling.” 

A moment later Roger got his take-off okay from the ground crew and they began to ascend quickly. 

The audience applauded their take off enthusiastically. Jack took more pictures and felt the sensation of everything getting lighter the higher they went. He knew this feeling from flying jets and gliders. There was something about taking off and soaring across the sky that made you feel like you left all your troubles and issues behind. As the academy campus zoomed out, getting smaller and smaller, Jack looked up at the flame. He could feel its warmth on his face and the breeze of wind ruffling his hair. 

“I can see cadet's chapel!” Al called out.

“Yes, yes! And there's the stadium!” Daniel joined in. “Look how tiny everything is!”

For a while they tried to out-yell each other about everything they could see from this high up. They tried to find the truck and squabbled a bit over whether they had found it or not. “There are too many trucks,” Al complained finally. “One of them is yours. But there's no telling which one.”

Hammond had been right. This was great. 

***

Higher and higher up they went. Daniel was glad he didn't suffer from motion sickness or fear of heights any more. This way he could enjoy the ride in full. He remembered when Jack had forced him to jump from a plane in Russia. It had been hell... horribly high up and he remembered being sick and that he'd been sure he was going to die, crashing on some slab of rock. It had been dark and it had been cold....

Now he wondered if parachute jumps were really that horrible if one did it by daylight and in a safe environment? But for now he was content with just being here, so high up from the ground, seeing the landscape gliding away under them. And still the balloon ascended. 

Roger, the pilot, explained that balloons usually went as high as one thousand to three thousand feet, but could go higher if needed, up to 25 thousand feet. Then Daniel learned that balloons weren't steered. 

“Winds are generally layered in different directions at different altitudes. We'll ascend until we find wind going in the right direction. I do have control over altitude and the rate of ascent or descent by manipulating the burner and vents. Our balloon has a parachute valve at the top to release hot air. To do so I have to pull a valve line. Once air is released, the balloon will descend,” Roger informed them. 

“If we're going down somewhere, how do we get back to the academy?” Al asked, suddenly looking a bit anxious.

“No worries about that, kiddo. The ground crew will be following us.” Roger patted his radio. “I'm always in contact with them. They'll take you back.”

Once they stopped ascending Daniel couldn't feel the wind in his hair anymore. They weren't in the wind, they were going with it. It was very still except for the occasional noise of the burner flaring up when Roger adjusted the altitude a little. Under them mountains silently glided away. Their pilot pointed out several of the rocks they were passing, but Daniel was for once not interested in listening. He was too occupied drinking in the scenery. The mountains in the distance, the city underneath them, the miniscules houses, streets and highways... and they floated above it all.

_This is something I would never have done if I hadn't been littled. Because I never really liked heights before._

This was one of the rare precious moments where he could _really_ embrace what Svenson and Jack kept talking about all the time – enjoying new experiences, finding something wonderful in being a kid again. Welcoming the changes rather than rejecting or just tolerating them. This was such a change he was welcoming. He had no idea if the loss of his uneasiness regarding heights was part of the downsizing or had come with the regular workout Teal'c was doing with him. Climbing trees, balancing on dead tree trunks,... that kind of stuff...

He didn't know. He didn't care. All he cared about was the sun, the blue sky and the sensation of gliding... it wasn't even like flying. It was like walking on air. 

“There's Memorial Park!” Al said, pulling Daniel out his thoughts. The boys craned their necks to take everything in. 

“There's the lake! Jack and I went there last week,” Daniel shared. “Look! There're no boats today. When we were there we rented a sail boat.”

“The reason there're no boats today is because we've got permission to do a splash and dash. That's usually done during the Air Balloon Classics on Memorial Day,” Roger said. 

“Ohhhh, I've been there,” Mrs. Silverstone marveled. It was the first time she had spoken. Her face lit up at the memory. “A hundred balloons start from Memorial Park and cross the lake doing a splash and dash. It's amazing to watch!”

“What's a splash and dash?” Al asked, curious. 

“Wait and see,” Roger said with a smirk. 

They saw the other two balloons not far off gliding towards Prospect Lake and Al started waving madly at them while Jack was busy snapping pictures. Daniel saw the playground, the boat rental huts... and then they were above the lake. 

“Get ready for some splashin',” Roger warned them.

The balloon descended, leaving a funny sensation in the pit of Daniel's stomach as they fell lower and lower, the water coming closer and closer – zooming in. They didn't fall rapidly, but it was like being in an elevator without the car. Soon Daniel could see ducks and geese dashing out of the basket's way and the glistening surface of the lake was getting really close... then the basket touched the water with a loud splash and for a moment it seemed as though they were swimming... and then it took off again, ascending quickly back into the sky, droplets of water flying away from the basket. 

Everyone applauded and cheered, even Daniel couldn't stop himself from a heartfelt, “Wooohooo!” 

The other two balloons took lead, gaining height quickly and theirs followed suit. 

“That, ladies and gentlemen, was a splash and dash,” Roger said.

“That was soooo cooool,” Al drawled, bouncing on his toes. Jack took a picture of him and laughed, then quickly aimed at Daniel. “C'mon, you too.”

“Noooo,” Daniel moaned, but there was no where to go and so he stood next to Al and grinned into the camera. 

“Excellent,” Jack said. His friend, Colonel Beck, reached out for the camera and demanded to take a picture of Jack and the kids. Before he knew it Daniel found himself squashed between Jack and the pilot. Al stood at Jack's other side and Beck ordered them all to say, “Cheese.”

The wind let them drift away from Memorial Park back over the city and a while later Daniel recognized the foothills of Garden of the Gods. But instead of crossing the park they changed direction once again and George pointed out they were heading towards Cheyenne Mountain Resort. 

“Doesn’t your dad work at NORAD?” Al asked as they were both looking out for the Cheyenne Mountain complex. 

“Yeah. There,” Daniel yelled as suddenly the large parking lot area came into view. “I found it!” He watched a shuttle bus driving away from the mountain's entrance to the lot. “It looks like a caterpillar.” He wondered if he could spot one of the guards watching the entrance if he tried real hard... 

“Daniel!” He was pulled away from the basket's rim by the collar of his jeans jacket. “Will you please try to stay _in_ the basket until we've landed?” 

He felt his ears burn with embarrassment. “I'll do my best.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I'd appreciate it. Here – take some pics. But be careful!” He handed the camera over and for the next couple of minutes Daniel and Al took turns taking pictures of the mountainside as it drifted by rather quickly. The wind seemed to have picked up now. 

Far too soon Daniel realized they were descending again and Roger was talking to his ground crew over the radio, letting them know he’d found a good spot for landing. 

Daniel had no idea where they were now, but a large field of short, sunburned grass stretched out beneath them. 

“You all may want to hold onto the basket as we land. It might get a bit rough,” Roger advised cheerfully. 

When they finally touched ground, the basket wobbled and dragged over the grass. General Silverstone's wife held on to her husband and looked kind of worried. Al was holding on to the basket with one hand, his other hand tightly clamped on Jack's arm, his green eyes wide. “It can't topple over, can it?” he asked in a high-pitched voice. 

Daniel bravely held on to the basket with both hands, biting his lip. Suddenly the balloon above him seemed real big. What if the basket DID topple over and the balloon dropped down on them, burying them all? 

“It's all right,” Jack said. “Nothing to worry about, kids.” 

“Bit rocky,” Beck laughed. 

Roger was yelling something to his ground crew. Five men were hanging onto the basket now. Finally it did one final big jump and then stood motionless. 

Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, Daniel slumped back against Jack who was right behind him. “Wow,” he muttered. 

“You okay, buddy?” Jack put a comforting hand on his back. “Off you go. Don't miss the steps.” 

“I'm fine. Just a bit wobbly.” Daniel climbed out of the basket, followed by the other passengers.

Once they had all gathered around their pilot, bottles of champagne, and orange juice for the kids, appeared from somewhere and glasses were handed out by one of the ground crew. Other crew members started the deflating and Daniel watched, a little sad, as the giant balloon slowly sank to the ground.

Roger raised his glass. “It's custom to offer a toast upon a good landing.” He cleared his throat and continued, “The winds have welcomed you with softness. The sun has blessed you with its warm hands. You have flown so high and so well that God has joined you in your laughter and set you gently back into the loving arms of mother Earth.” 

_I want to do this again some day,_ Daniel thought when he clinked his glasses with Jack and Al, feeling a burst of happiness as he gazed at the sky.

*** 

Jack was ready to call it a day when the balloon crew escorted them back to the academy. It had been fun, though, and while he had longed for a quiet weekend at home he didn't regret coming out here for one minute. The kids chatted in the back of the van, reliving every detail of the ride. Jack smiled. Yep, it had been fun. But now it was time to take them home and wind down. Maybe they could stop at Pizza Hut for take out or something before they dropped Al off. And then he longed for a cold beer and his favorite deck chair... 

“...don't want to miss the launch of the little balloons,” Daniel said.

“D'you think someone's gonna write to us?” Al wondered. “I never got a letter from anyone.”

Right. The mini balloon launch. He'd totally forgotten about that. From the ongoing yakking of excited young voices he didn't think the kids were willing to skip it either. Jack sighed. Boy, was he getting old or what? 

They made their way through Falcon Stadium again. The football field had been cleared and several lines of people, mostly kids, were waiting for their balloons to get inflated. But thankfully most people already stood together in groups, their balloons dancing eagerly on the lines, ready for take off. They didn't have to wait long to get their balloons filled with helium. 

Jack took out the camera and put it on video, hoping Daniel wouldn't notice. He had only recently started to take pictures of his mini archeologist. Daniel had never allowed it. In fact he was still wary of having his pic taken. But one day Jack had realized he needed to save a part of this Daniel and the good memories he'd made about his second chance at being a dad. It wouldn't last. But he wanted a photo album to look at, later. And Daniel had understood. So while he wasn't happy about the camera, he complied most of the time Jack asked him for a picture. 

But a video of this would be cool. And it'd turn out best if the kids didn't notice and acted normally. He pretended to check the battery of the camera, holding it so that it recorded Daniel and Al watching their balloons bounce. 

“I know what you're doing,” Daniel shouted from where they were standing.

Jack tried to look sheepish. “Yeah, well... “

Daniel let out a put upon sigh. “Go on. But no sharing with anyone.”

“Okay. Though I bet Carter, Jackson and T would love to see this.”

Daniel grumbled under his breath, but Al seemed to like being on video. He waved at Jack and tried to turn his balloon so that the writing could be seen properly. Maybe his parents would like a copy of this. Jack made a mental note to ask them. He had just started to film the stadium and the many other kids with balloons when a voice over the speakers announced the launch. 

There was a countdown from ten, a shrill whistle and then hundreds of blue balloons ascended into the air, carrying greetings from Colorado Springs out into the world. Jack kept filming the beginning of their journey and when they were nothing but little moving dots he turned to Daniel and Al. Al was cheering the departing balloons on along with the other kids, but Daniel stood very still and just watched, his eyes just as bright and blue as the sky. 

Fin

 


End file.
